MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Sci-Fi Horror/Stars: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, Aileen Wu, Terry Rapson; Voice of: Daniel Betts/Runtime: 119 minutes
I think it can definitely be said that if you were to make a list of film franchises that could have easily ended after the first 2 installments with relatively no pushback from either movie reviewers (or professional movie watchers if you prefer) or the general movie going public, I feel like that list would not be complete if you did not have the Alien franchise on there somewhere. I say this because yes the first Alien is an undeniable masterpiece of sci-fi horror, yes the 2nd installment is very much a masterpiece as well albeit in the sci-fi action subgenre instead, but after that…..this franchise hasn’t exactly been one that you might consider to be all that impressive. To be sure, there are components of everything that has followed in the wake of Aliens’ immense success back in 1986, but I mean Alien 3 didn’t exactly do this franchise any favors (at least when looking at it solely based on the theatrical cut), Alien: Resurrection is…what it is, Prometheus from 2012 I feel definitely is underrated, Alien: Covenant is 2/3rds of a fun movie before stumbling flat on its face in the final third, and as for the pair of Alien vs. Predator films that audiences were treated to in 2004 and 2007 respectively….well sometimes the less said about certain things, the more likely it is that they can quickly and painlessly be forgotten. At any rate, there is no denying that with each of these installments, it feels like they have all in their own ways started to act like the acid blood found in the titular entity and begun to erode away at this once-genuinely great franchise. Perhaps this is why when I first heard about the newest installment, and slice of cinema I happen to be reviewing for you today incidentally, 2024’s Alien: Romulus I found myself sighing and shaking my head. Not that I didn’t have faith in the person they had assigned to helm this particular entry (I mean Don’t Breathe from 2016 and the Evil Dead remake from 2013 are still two of my favorite horror films from the previous decade) nor for that matter is it because the cast of young up-and-comers in the land of movie magic they had assembled didn’t look all that impressive. Rather, it’s because I just had gotten so used to this franchise (the first 2 and arguably Prometheus aside) really just not delivering on what its marketing seemed dead set on what it would give us during the runtime. Happily, I can confirm that it is still possible for a film to surprise me and that is exactly what we have gotten here. To be sure, it’s not flawless by any stretch, but with the aid of fairly impeccable work on both sides of the camera, Alien: Romulus is definitely a worthy addition to this franchise while also managing to inject some exciting, and desperately needed, new acid blood to the proceedings as well.
The plot is as follows: Taking place between the events depicted for audiences in the first and 2nd Alien movies, and following a prologue which I shan’t spoil for you here, Alien: Romulus takes us to the colony of Jackson’s Star located on the celestial body of LV-410 where we meet our young heroine Rain Carradine. A young woman who, among other things worth knowing about her, has been working tirelessly in an attempt to get her and her surrogate brother Andy, a slightly off-kilter android that Rain’s tragically passed away dad (who I really hope was Robert Carradine from Revenge of the Nerds) had reprogrammed to look out for her, out of the horrific conditions they have found themselves dealing with day in and day out and to a better planetary unit in the universe where they can live their lives. Yet, just when all hope for that seems lost due to Weyland-Yutani mercilessly extending her already fulfilled work contract (those cads!), we see that Fate might have another opportunity in store for Rain and Adam to fulfill this dream of theirs. An opportunity that soon makes itself apparent in the form of Rain’s ex-boyfriend Tyler approaching her to aid him, his pregnant sister Kay, their more than slightly jerkish cousin Bjorn, and Bjorn’s adopted sis Navarro on a little quest of sorts. One that will see the group leave LV-410 and head straight up to a run-down space station currently just hanging out in the atmosphere above the planet, find the cryostasis chambers located onboard, and proceed to use them to get out of dodge and to the significantly more hospitable conditions on the planet Yvaga (which I hear is really lovely this time of year incidentally). More than anything though, the group would really love if Rain could convince Andy to come with them. Not because they want to be exposed to his constant dad jokes, but because Andy has vital programming that will permit him to interact with the computer system located on the space station which could prove to be invaluable in the group’s objectives. Suffice it to say that it isn’t long before, despite her initial reservations, we see that our heroine, Andy, and the rest of the group are quickly making their way on the USS Enterprise ehhh the Millenium Falcon ehhh the Corbelan IV to the space station which we, along with them, soon learn is less a space station and more in the vein of a giant Weyland-Yutani research vessel that is split into two parts: the Remus and the Romulus (hence the title of the movie). By landing on this seemingly abandoned and rundown research vessel however, we see that our group is doing more than just engaging in a bit of space looting in pursuit of a better life. Rather, they are also taking the first steps on a journey. One that will not only teach them about the properties of terror, but also bring them face to face with a very familiar yet no less chilling nightmare. As for what transpires from there however that is something I think is best left for you to uncover…..
Now right off the ol’ face hugger, it should be said that the work done by the assorted teams operating behind the camera on this particular slice of cinema all manage to do a great job of bringing really solid work to the terrifying proceedings that unfurl before us during the film’s 119-minute runtime. Without a doubt in my mind, this starts with the work done by distinct film helmer Fede Alvarez in the director’s chair and, after the aforementioned double team of Don’t Breathe and Evil Dead in 2016 and 2013 respectively, this is definitely another winning entry in this guy’s filmography that I will take great delight in revisiting time and time again. Indeed there are several aspects of Alvarez’s work here that really help this film, from a directorial perspective, to operate at the level it is able to reach. The first is that Alvarez, as he did with those other movies, does a wonderful job of bringing here an appropriately on-point atmosphere that is a terrific blend of claustrophobic and potent with a hearty helping of dread thrown in for good measure. Along with that, we see that Alvarez does a beautiful job of respecting what came before in this series whilst also contributing his own distinct vision to the material before him. As a result, yes this film is one that has some terrifyingly effective new tricks up its sleeves, but it also feels very much like a part of this franchise rather than a film that has barely, if any, connective tissue to the overall franchise and just slapped the name on its title for the purpose of getting an audience to watch it (Halloween: Resurrection anyone?). Lastly, we see that Alvarez does a great job when it comes to ensuring that his fairly small cast of characters are all individuals that are not only strong, but also relatable as well thus ensuring that we as an audience actually care about these people as they are being ruthlessly hunted by the titular entity. Besides the terrific work done by Alvarez at the helm, this slice of cinema also features hauntingly beautiful work from Galo Olivares and the cinematography department. Indeed not only does Olivares’ work match the degrees of suspense and terror bought by Alvarez at the helm, but it also manages to effectively recreate the lighting and color range present in the OG Alien while also having no qualms about bringing some new and thrilling moments to the franchise including a sequence set in zero gravity that is truly nail-biting in the best way possible. Last, but by no means least this section would most assuredly be incomplete if I didn’t take some time to talk about the undeniably skilled work done by noted composer Benjamin Wallfisch (the 2021 take on Mortal Kombat, 2016’s Lights Out, 2017’s Annabelle: Creation, and both of the recent It movies from 2017 and 2019 respectively among others) in terms of this film’s musical accompaniment. Indeed Wallfisch does a standout job of giving this film a score that, while effectively sprinkling in little nods here and there to Jerry Goldsmith’s work from the first film, manages to also be an incredible blend of spooky, suspenseful, and genuinely magnificent in its own right as well. Suffice it to say that when you also take into account fairly well-done work in the editing department from Jake Roberts and absolutely jaw-droppingly incredible work from the visual effects department among others it’s clear that the people operating behind the camera here are very much loyal fans of this franchise first and foremost and their work is very much a fantastic reflection of that.
Alongside the incredibly skilled work engaged in by the undeniably gifted teams operating behind the camera here, this slice of spooky cinema is also that benefits quite immensely from having that work reinforced by a collection of performances in front of the camera that prove to be just as skilled in their own right. Without a doubt in my mind, this starts with Cailee Spaeny (Civil War from 2024, Priscilla from 2023, and 2018’s Bad Times at the El Royale among others) in the lead role and she is absolutely wonderful here. Indeed as Rain, we see that Spaeny does a great job at giving us a character who manages to be a wonderful degree of relatable and grounded even though, for all intents and purposes, she is very much meant to be the substitute for Ripley in this particular installment of the franchise. Yet whereas Weaver brought a necessary degree of tough as nails to say nothing of self-confident, we see that Spaeny instead decides to go down a more intriguing and arguably complex route by providing her heroine with degrees of terror and anxiety as to the best course of action in this particular situation that she, her “adopted brother”, and her friends have found themselves in. As a result, yes she kicks alien butt in this, but she also feels more like how you or I would if faced with this particular situation. Suffice it to say it’s a terrific performance and one that I hope we get to see Spaeny reprise in a future installment. As good as Spaeny is, she is matched incredibly well by the work done here by David Jonsson (2023’s Rye Lane and Gus Sackey in the TV show Industry) as her surrogate android brother Andy. Indeed this is a very complex role for reasons I can’t fully go into due to fear of spoilers, but what I can say that is that Jonsson does a terrific job of giving us a character who, despite being an android, is still able to possess a degree of both warmth and humanity with particular regard to his sibling-like relationship with Rain yet who, through events which occur during the course of this film, finding himself engaged in an internal struggle between maintaining that bond and fulfilling the directive of outside influences. Indeed it’s not that much of a stretch to say that the androids in this series have always been truly intriguing characters to follow and I can safely say that Jonsson, following in the footsteps of such talents as Ian Holm and Michael Fassbender, is able to keep that legacy alive and well. Besides Spaeny and Jonsson, this film also gives us a fantastic turn from Archie Renaux in the role of group leader Tyler. Yes, this character does feel like a hybrid of Dallas and Hicks, but Renaux does a great job at giving us a guy who is both an experienced and resourceful leader to say nothing of someone who is decent, brave, and who cares about everyone in the group while also doing his best to ensure their safety no matter how chaotic things get. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in solid efforts from fellow up and coming screen talents Isabel Merced (who is behind easily one of the most jaw-dropping worthy moments in an Alien film I have seen in some time), Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu I think it can definitely be said that while the majority of the characters in this slice of cinema feel like reprisals to a certain degree of characters that audiences saw in the first 2 Alien movies, the cast still manages to do a really good job with their respective performances all the same.
All in all and at the end of the day is Alien: Romulus as excellent as the first two installments in this rather distinct franchise? Sadly as much as I would love to tell you that I am afraid that I cannot though in all fairness the level of quality set by those first two movies is a fairly high bar to reach for. With that in mind however, does that make this the worst thing to happen to this franchise since the pair of Alien vs. Predator movies nearly killed this franchise off worse than a chest burster to an extremely unfortunate human victim? Thankfully, and quite happily, I can definitely confirm that is also not the case by any stretch of the imagination either. To be sure, this slice of cinema is one that does take its time to get going thus causing the film to possess a wee bit of a pacing issue, yes a fair amount of the characters aren’t given a lot to work with in terms of narrative material, and yes there is perhaps one other thing about this movie that, despite not going into detail about it here due to fear of spoilers, I can nevertheless confidently say that I am still not entirely sure quite what to make of despite having seen the movie twice now as of this writing. With those things in mind though, I will admit that I did still enjoy this slice of cinema quite immensely. Indeed the work done at the helm is really solid, the script fairly well-written, the cinematography absolutely gorgeous, the score very much on-point, the work by the visual effects team jaw-droppingly incredible, and the performances (with particular regard to the ones given by Spaeny and Jonsson) are well-acted despite the aforementioned narrative material misbalancing act afoot. Suffice it to say then that Alien: Romulus manages to be, flaws and all, both a more than worthy addition to one of the most iconic sci-fi franchises of all time to say nothing of a spine-tingling and squirm-inducing good time that fans of sci-fi, horror, or both are sure to enjoy time and time again. Just make sure that you and your friends have no immediate plans to go into space before you choose to do so. Not that I have to tell you this, but sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry especially when dealing with things in space because (as the tagline goes) in space no one can hear you scream…or at least function as a place where you can get a really good cellphone signal to call for help should you require it…..Make of that what thou will dear reader! On a scale of 1-5 I give Alien: Romulus “2024” a solid 3.5 out of 5.
